Multiple contact electrical connector

ABSTRACT

A dielectric contact support body including a plurality of separate contact blades conveniently arranged in two opposite and spaced rows and mounted on the support body through reception within associated apertures and through wedge fitting reception thereof within associated recesses of the support body. In a preferred method of manufacture, the support body is formed with a pair of recesses separated by a shoulder member and the contact blades are formed into a U-shaped matrix having a linking web portion disposed in the bight section thereof. The contact blade matrix is driven in a controlled manner onto the support body so as to insert the leg sections of the matrix through their associated apertures and to sever the linking web portion through its engagement with the shoulder member of the support body. The severed end portions of the blades are then force fitted into their associated recesses.

Blackman et al.

1 1' 3,750,091 1451 July 31, 1973 MULTIPLE CONTACT ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR[75] Inventors: Kent G. Blackman, Sycamore;

Eugene R. Hrdlicka, Elmwood Park,

73 Assi nee: GTE Automatic Electric I 1 g Laboratories Inc. Northlake LA dielectric contact support body m cluding a plurall ty of separatecontact blades conveniently arranged 1n [22] Filed: Mar. 27, 1972 twoopposite and spaced rows and mounted on the support body throughreception within associated aper- [21] Appl' 238l44 tures and throughwedge fitting reception thereof within associated recesses of thesupport body. In a pre- [52] US. Cl. 339/176 M, 29/629, 339/221 M ferredmethod of manufacture, the support body is [51] Int. Cl. H0lr 9/16,l-lOlr 13/50 formed with a pair of recesses separated by a shoulderField of Search 339/92 176 member and the contact/blades are formed intoa U- 339/176 MP, 220, 221, 195 M; 29/629 shaped matrix having a linkingweb portion disposed in the bight section thereof. The contact bladematrix is [56] References Cited driven in a controlled manner onto thesupport body so lT STATES PATENTS as to insert the leg sections of thematriigithrough their 3 409 85? 11/1968 ONeill et a] 339 220 R x aswcimdapemlres and sever the linking web 312341499 2/1966 Paholek et al. 339221 M x lion through its engagement with the Shoulder member 3,656,1834/1972 Walterscheid 339/92 M x of the pp y- The Severed end Portions ofthe 3,493,916 2/1970 Hansen 339/222 M X blades are then force fittedinto their associated reces- 2,699,534 lll955 Klostermann 339/220 R Xses. 3,504,330 3/1970 ,Holzhaeuser 339/[76 MP 1 Claim, 8 Drawing FiguresF 6 28 7 I 7O 27 73 53 6| fl I Primary Examiner-Marvin A. ChampionAssistant Eqeaminer-Lawrence J. Staab Attorney K. Mullerheim, Lester N.Arnold et al.

PATENIEUJuLs: 1 ma sum 1 or 2 FIG. 4

MULTIPLE CONTACT ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to multiplecontact electrical connectors, and more particularly relates to themanner in which the securement of separate con tact blades to adielectric support body is obtained and to a method for manufacturingsuch connectors.

2. Description of the Prior Art It is important to construct multiplecontact connectors or terminals so as to achieve uniform spacing andalignment of individual contact blades. Also contact blades must betightly secured to the insulating terminal block so as to provide theintegrity of electrical connections to the contact surfaces thereof. Itis also important to provide means for attaching the contact bladeswhereby an individual blade may be easily and rapidly replaced in theshop or in the field with a mini mum use of tools and expenditure oftime. Heretofore, it has been conventional to employ fastening devicesof various types, such as screws, rivets and/or clamps, to secure thecontact blades to the terminal block. The terminal blocks were requiredto be provided with numerous taps and holes to accommodate these varioustypes of fastening devices, and to have the surfaces upon which thecontact-blades were to be mounted constructed with very close tolerancesfor providing a secure fit of the contact blades thereon. It is nowpossible with the present invention to secure certain advantages in boththe configuration of the multiple contact connector itself and themethod of manufacture therefor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toprovide a dielectric contact support body or terminal block on which alarge number of separate contact blades are easily maintained in properspacing and alignment and which can be firmly mounted without the use ofdiscrete fastening devices.

It is another object of the invention to provide a contact support bodyrelatively simple in its structural fea tures and which supports thecontact blades in a man-,

ner so as to present maximum access-to the electrical contact surfaceareas thereof.

It is still another object of the-invention to provide a method formanufacturing multiple contact connectors having large numbers ofindividual contact blades mounted thereon through utilizing a number ofsuch blades arranged in a self-supporting matrix to be mounted onto thesupport body through the interaction of a single assembly tool with thesupport body, thus reducing the number of and complexity of theprocessing steps required to construct a completed connector.

In a preferred embodiment, a multiple contact electrical connector iscomprised of a dielectric contact support body and a plurality ofseparate electrical contact blades conveniently mounted on the supportbody in at least two parallel spaced rows. The dielectric support bodyincludes at least two rows of spaced apertures for accommodating thepassage therethrough of the two rows of contact blades and a raisedshoulder member on one surface of the support body intermediatelydisposed with respect to the rows of apertures. Further, the supportbody includes contact shaping recesses at least two of which aregenerally separated by the shoulder portion. The contact blades of eachrow have free end portions extending outwardly from the support body inone direction, respectively, and intermediate portions extending throughtheassociated apertures in the support body. Further, opposite endportions of the contact blades extend along an exterior surface of thesupport body in a direction generally opposite fromthe one direction.The extreme end portions of the opposite end portions of the contactblades are positioned with a force fit into at least one of the contactshaping recesses to tightly secure each of the contact blades to thesupport body. Further, the intermediate portions of the contact bladesinclude protruding tabs thereon which are drawn into engagement with thesides of the support body which define the apertures when the contactblades are forced into the associated recesses.

These and other objects of the invention will become immediatelyapparent and obvious to those skilled in the pertinent art uponreferring to the following description in connection with theaccompanying draw ings, of which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a multiplecontact connector constructed in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention and showing two opposed and spaced rows of contactsmounted upona' suitable support body of insulating material broken nearits end portions for reducing its length;

FIG. 2 is a side plan view of the multiple contact connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of an end portion of the multiplecontact connector of FIGS, 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the multiple contact connector of FIG. 1and 2;

FIG. 5A is a top plan view of a planar configuration of a matrix ofelectrical contact blades'suitable for mounting on the multiple contactconnector of the present invention;

FIG. 5B is an end view of the matrix of electrical contact blades ofFIG. 5A subsequent to their formation in a desired U-shaped pattern; 1

FIG. 6 is a combined cross-sectional view showing the contact supportbody of FIG. 1 taken generally along the line 6-6 thereof; the contactblade matrix of FIG. 5B partially inserted thereon; and a punch deviceuseful in the assembly of the contact blades onto the support body; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 6 but showing the partsin different stages of their engaged position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Now referring generally to FIGS.1-4 of the drawing,

11 as for example double or triple rows of contact blades could beprovided on each side of the longitudinal axis in various patterns ofalignment. However, the principles and advantages of the invention canbe well understood with reference to the displayed embodiment of theconnector 10.

The support body 11 is typically comprised of any suitable dielectric orinsulating material that is commonly used in constructing electricalconnector bodies and includes a plurality of apertures 15 correspondingto the number of contact blades 13. These apertures 15 are alsoconveniently arranged in two opposed and spaced rows 15a and 15b byvirtue of their having the contact blades 13 insertedly receivedtherethrough in mounting the contact blades to the support body 1 1. Inorder to provide a convenient means by which to mount the support body11 to any selected panel board or other substrate (not shown), thesupport body 11 is provided with a number of mounting posts 17 arrangedin pairs as shown in FIGS. 1-2 and 4. The posts 17 are then providedwith suitable openings 17a in their outer extremities through whichstandard fastening devices could be inserted into an adjacent panelboard. Other suitable mounting means could be provided and such featuresdo not constitute a pertinent part of this invention.

It can be seen in FIGS. 14 that the contact blades 13 of the two rows ofcontact blades 13a and 13b are aligned so as to present a number ofpairs of opposed and spaced contact blades 13. Each pair of contactblades 13 lies in a plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of thesupport body 11 and is uniformly spaced from adjacent pairs of contactblades 13. It is to be noted that the particular alignment of contactblades 13 and their uniform spacing are largely design choices and servethe purpose of enhancing the economy of manufacturing the connector 10because of the adaptability of the design to automatic wiring apparatusand methods.

The overall design of the connector 10 is guided by the particularapplication of the connector which is to form a part of a well knownconnector jack assembly used in telecommunication networks. Theconnector assembly employs a mating connector socket (not shown) toreceive the support body 1 1 in a plug-in fashion while permitting thecontact blades 13 to extend freely for the attachment of wire leadsthereto. In a popular design for the plug-in portion of such connectors,the connector It) utilizes a bar-shaped or four sided support body 11having a top wall or surface 21, a bottom wall or surface 23 and twoopposed side walls or surfaces 25 when considering the orientation ofthe support body 11 in FIG. 3.

Since each of the contact blades 13 are required to provide twoelectrical connections, i.e., one to a corresponding contact in themating connector socket and one to a wire lead, the contact blades 13must provide maximum surface area for electrical contact. It istherefore particularly advantageous to provide two opposed and oppositeledge or shoulder portions 27 extending laterally along the outer edgeportions of the top wall 21 of the support body 11. The ledges 27include the multiple apertures 15, leaving approximately the entire sidewalls 25 unencumbered by structure which would prevent access to thecontact blades 13. The ledges 27 further include wall faces 28,respectively, which are positioned adjacent the openings of theapertures 15 of each of the rows of apertures 15a and 15b. The wallfaces 28 provide additional support for the contact blades 13 throughengagement with a surface portion of each of the blades.

Now considering the configuration of the contact blades 13, it can beseen that an individual contact blade is generally elongated andincludes a free or first end portion 130, an intermediate or centralportion 13d and a second end portion 13e (FIG. 3). The second endportions l3e of the mounted contact blades 13 can be seen to extendalong an associated side wall 25 and onto the bottom wall 23 of thesupport body 11 (FIG. 4). It is common to provide for the side walls 25to converge at a selected slope toward the bottom wall 23 to facilitatethe insertion of the connector 10 into springlike contact jaws oroutwardly diverging contact jaws of the mating connector socket. Thispattern can be observed in FIG. 3 and greatly improves the electricalaccess to the contact blades 13 wherein the second end portions 13ecomprise electrical contact surfaces or areas in addition to the freeend portions which also comprise electrical contact surfaces or areassuitable to permit multiple wire wraps or turns of separate wire leads(not shown) to be attached to each free end portion 13c.

In the manner of mounting the contact blades 13 to the support body 11,the contact blades are provided with protruding spring-like tabs 16,respectively, (most clearly seen in FIGS. 3, 5A and 5B) and the supportbody 11 is provided with a pair of contact shaping trough-like groovesor recesses 31 in the bottomwall 23. The recesses 31'extend at least thefull length of an associated group of contact blades and receive thesecond end portions of an associated row of the contact blades 13therein, respectively, in a wedge fitting fashion for capturing thecontact blades 13 therein. The bottom wall 23 further includes agenerally raised ridge or shoulder member 33 disposed laterally alongthe full length of the recesses 31 for electrically-isolating theopposed rows of contacts 13a and 13b from each other. The raisedshoulder member 33 also serves a novel purpose in the manufacture of theconnector 10 as will be described more fully hereinafter.

It can be readily observed that the contact blades 13 are securelymounted on the support body 11 through the cooperation of the followingseveral features. The contact blades 13 are initially positioned withrespect to the support body 11 and to each other by their insertionthrough the apertures 15. Thereafter, the contact blades 13 arepositioned within the apertures 15, respectively, through engagement oftheir tabs 16 with the sides of the ledges 27 which define the apertures15 and the wedge fit of the blades within the recesses 31. It isapparent that the wedge fitting operates to tighten the tabs 16 againstthe sides of the apertures 15 opposite from the recesses 31. In thismanner, the contact blades 13 are secured to the support body 11 of theconnector 10 without the need of using separate fastening devices suchas screws, rivets and/or clamps.

In a preferred method for manufacturing the connector 10, the contactsupport body 11 is suitably formed in the configuration previouslydiscussed. In addition thereto, the raised shoulder member 33 is formedto present a relatively flat uppermost surface, as shown in FIG. 4,which is inclined slightly toward. its central portion in an outwardconcave pattern, as clearly shown in FIG. 2. Next, a single group 40 ofcontact blades 13 is formed, typically by a stamping operation from flatmetal stock, in a coplanar matrix of a plurality of blades 13 extendingoppositely from a common or linking web portion 41. in order to form theopposite and aligned pairs of contact blades 13 of FIGS. 1-4, theoppositely extending blades 13 in the matrix group 40 are also alignedin coaxial pairs of blades as is indicated by adjacent and parallelcontact blade pairs 43a-43n in FIG. 5A, wherein the suffix n isrepresentative of the selected number of blade pairs in a given matrixgroup. During the stamping operation, it is convenient to provide thecontact blades 13 with the tabs 16 as well as to provide the particulargeometry desired for the contact blades 13.

Next, the matrix group 40 of contact blades 13 has each of its bladepairs 43a-43n formed into a generally U-shaped pattern or configurationhaving the web portion 41 thereof disposed in the bight section of theconfigured matrix group 40. As is apparent from the drawing, the openingbetween the leg sections of the blade pairs 43a-43n, as indicated byreference character d of FIG. 5B, is determined by the distance betweenopposed pairs of apertures on the support body 11. Additionally duringthe stamping operation, the linking web portion 41 is partially severedin its connection to the blade pairs 43a-43n for serving to lessen theamount of shearing force required to completely sever or disconnect theblade pairs 43a-43n during a subsequent step. This condition isindicated in FIG. 58 by the offset configuration of web portion 41.Also, obviously, the concave configuration of the shoulder member 33serves to lessen the amount of shearing force required at any given timeto sever the contact blades 13 from the web portion 41, Le, todistribute the total shearing force with respect to time.

In FIGS. 6 and 7, there is shown a punch device 50 useful in theassembly of the contact blades 13 onto the support body 11 which deviceis shown in cross-section only and thus would appear to be two separatereverse or mirror-image pieces of structure due to a central opening 51contained axially thereof a substantial portion of the length of thedevice 50. However, the punch device 50 can be thought of as comprisinga single unit structure having two exterior supporting walls 53, twointernal grooves or channels 55, and two opposed interior supportingwalls 57 which define the opening 51 in the device 50.

Additionally, the punch device 50 is provided with two movable channelmembers 61 insertedly received in the channels 55, respectively, andwhich have inclined or beveled surfaces 61a along an upper interiorportion thereof. The surfaces 61a of one channel member 61 are likewisethe reverse or mirror-image of those of the other channel member andcooperate to form a trough 63 within which to complementarily receivethe bight section of the configured matrix group 40. The channel members61 are movably or slidably mounted within the channels 55 on coilsprings 65, respectively, which springs are compressible under force ofthe intended engagement between the channelmembers 61 with theconfigured matrix group 40 and the support body 1 1.

In accordance with the preferred method for manufacturing the connector10, the support body 11, the configured matrix group 40 of contactblades 13, and the punch device 50 are formed into the respectiveconfigurations heretofore described. Next, a single matrix group 40 (or,a number of matrix groups 40 depending upon the longitudinal length ofthe support body 11 and the punch device 50) is selectively positionedwith respect to the support body 11 so as to accept the support body 11within the opening of the U- pattern and with the leg sections of thecontact blades 13 aligned for reception through the apertures 15 of thesupport body 11.

Similarly, the matrix group 40 is aligned with respect to the punchdevice 50 to permit the bight section of the U-pattern to be receivedwithin the trough 63. This positioning will by virtue of the symmetry ofparts align the web portion 41 to be engaged by the raised shouldermember 33, and further will align the web portion 41 to overlie theopening 51 in the punch device 50.

It is a suggested technique for which alternatives can be readilysubstituted to achieve the proper positioning of the matrix group 40 byinitially inserting the free end portions 13c of the contact blades 13through the respective apertures 15 much in the manner as indicated inFIG. 6. This would decrease the likelihood of damage to the contactblades 13 caused by some blades being bent due to misalignment withtheir'associated apertures 15, as well as lessen the criticality ofaligning the respective parts prior to the driving step now to be setforth.

Next, the support body 11, the punch device 50 and the configured matrixgroup 40 of contact blades 13 are driven into respective engagement asby applying a force F (FIG. 7) to a drive post on the support body 11when supporting the punch device 50 on a nonyielding base.Alternatively, the post 70 could be used to hold the support body 11stationary while the punch device is moved in the direction of the arrowA in FIG. 7. The resulting engagement of parts is similar to that shownin FIG. 7 with the exception that the movement between the respectiveparts is shown in two different stages of its completion. On theright-half side of FIG.

7, the engagement is shown at a time I, wherein the web portion 41 hasinstantaneously engaged the shoulder member 33 of the support body 11and the second end portions 13c of the contact blades 13 are receivedwithin the trough 63. Likewise, the spring-like tabs 16 are just beforebeing inserted through the apertures 15. Desirably, the undersideentrances to the apertures 15 can be tapered in an outwardly divergingpattern as indicated at 73 in FIG. 7 in order to depress and guide therespective tabs 16 more evenly into the apertures 15.

Now on the left'hand side of FIG. 7, the engagement of parts is shown ata subsequent time t, wherein the second end portions l3e of the contactblades 13 have now been severed from the web portion 41 by the insertionof the shoulder member 33 into the opening 51 of the punch device 50.Also, the two interior support walls 57 have been received into thecontact shaping recesses 31 by virtue of the movement of the channelmembers 61 into their compressed position to expose the uppermostportions of the interior support walls 57. These uppermost portions ofthe walls 57 comprise in effect protuberant members when the channelmembers 61 are depressed and must therefore be shaped of a complementarynature to the recesses 31 in order to permit their reception within thesame.

At time t,, the tabs 16 have cleared their travel through the apertures15 wherein they were temporarily compressed, and have returned to theiroriginal protruding position with respect to the plane of the associatedrow of contact blades 13a or 13b. This protrusion is designed to preventthe return of the contact blades 13 in a direction opposite to thedirection of the arrow A of FIG. 7. Approximately simultaneous with theclearing of the tabs 16 through the apertures 15, the severed second endportions l3e of the contact blades are being inserted into the recesses31. The recesses 31 are designed so as to tightly receive the contactend portions 3e in a wedge fitting fashion, thus drawing the contactblades 13 tightly across the side walls 25 of the support body 11against the anchor point formed by the tabs 16 being pulled against thesides of the ledges 27 defining the apertures 15. 7'

Therefore, with the withdrawal of the support body 11 and contact blades13 from engagement with the punch device 50, the web portion 41 has beensevered from the matrix group 40 to yield a plurality of individual andseparate contact blades 13. Also, these contact blades have beensecurely mounted to the specially designed support body 11 throughcooperation between the tabs 16 and wedge fit of the contact blades 13within the. recesses 31. It is to be noted that the punch device 50 hasbeen configured to accomplish the functions of inserting the contactblades 13 through the apertures l5, severing the blades 13 from theirmatrix group 40 and wedge fitting the blades 13 into the recesses 31.However, these functions can also be accomplished by otherconfigurations of tool devices, e. g., the contact matrix group 40 couldbe mounted in the field with a pair of common needle-nose pliers, andthe Applicants do not intend for the scope or application of theinvention to be limited to the displayed configuration of the punchdevice 50. a

Further, this invention has been described with reference to a preferredembodiment and various other equivalent and equally usefulconfigurations could no doubt be readily substituted by the skilledpractitioner after becoming knowledgeable of the principles andrudiments of the present invention. It istherefore the intent of theApplicants to cover these alternative embodiments through the followingclaims, to wit:

We claim:

1. An electrical connector structure of the multiple contact typecomprising an elongated dielectric contact support body having a topwall, bottom wall and a pair of sidewalls and including a pair ofcontact shaping recesses extending lengthwise of said bottom wall andtwo rows of oppositely disposed electrical contact blades positioned onsaid contact support body generally perpendicular to said elongateddimension thereof, said contact blades including first end portionsprotruding outwardly from said support body and second end portionssecured within said pair of recesses, respectively, the improvementcomprising a raised shoulder member disposed intermediatelyof said pairof recesses and including a pair of edge portions disposed substantiallyadjacent to said pair of recesses for use in severing said contactblades to an appropriate length, said raised shoulder member furtherhaving a relatively flat lowermost surface area being slightly concavetoward its central portion when viewed in a direction perpendicular toone of said sidewalls for use in distributing the shear forces presentduring a substantially simultaneous severing of a plurality of saidcontact blades.

1. An electrical connector structure of the multiple contact typecomprising an elongated dielectric contact support body having a topwall, bottom wall and a pair of sidewalls and including a pair ofcontact shaping recesses extending lengthwise of said bottom wall andtwo rows of oppositely disposed electrical contact blades positioned onsaid contact support body generally perpendicular to said elongateddimension thereof, said contact blades including first end portionsprotruding outwardly from said support body and second end portionssecured within said pair of recesses, respectively, the improvementcomprising a raised shoulder member disposed intermediately of said pairof recesses and including a pair of edge portions disposed substantiallyadjacent to said pair of recesses for use in severing said contactblades to an appropriate length, said raised shoulder member furtherhaving a relatively flat lowermost surface area being slightly concavetoward its central portion when viewed in a direction perpendicular toone of said sidewalls for use in distributing the shear forces presentduring a substantially simultaneous severing of a plurality of saidcontact blades.